Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Privacy at Richland Academy
Richland Academy (“Richland,” “the School,” “we,” “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy of its community members’ personal information. This Privacy Policy sets out, what personal information the School gathers, why we need it, who we share it with, how long we hold it, and the choices available to you. It applies to information collected through our website at richlandacademy.ca, through our admissions and parent portals, and through the day-to-day operation of our programs on campus.

We handle personal information in a manner consistent with Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and other privacy and record-keeping requirements that apply to independent schools operating in Ontario.

Who This Policy Covers
Richland collects information about a wide range of people connected to the School. This policy applies to:

• Prospective families who inquire about admission, register for a tour, or submit an application

• Enrolled students and their parents, guardians and emergency contacts

• Alumni and alumni families

• Applicants for employment, current faculty and staff, and former employees

• Volunteers, parent ambassadors and members of School committees

• Donors and supporters of the School

• Contractors, suppliers and service providers

• Visitors to our campus, our website and our social media channels

• Participants in camps, co-curricular programs and before/after care

Not every category of information described below is collected about every person. What we hold depends entirely on your relationship with the School and what that relationship requires.

What Personal Information We Collect
Depending on the relationship, the School may collect:

Identity and contact details — legal and preferred name, date and place of birth, home address, phone numbers, email addresses, citizenship or immigration status where relevant to enrolment, and the names and contact details of parents, guardians and emergency contacts.

Family and household information — family composition, custody or access arrangements, languages spoken at home, and sibling relationships within the School.

Admissions information — inquiry and application forms, prior school reports, teacher or principal references, assessment results, interview notes, and supporting documentation submitted during the application process.

Learning records — attendance, report cards and assessments, IB Primary Years and Middle Years Programme documentation, portfolios and learning documentation, individualized learning plans, psychoeducational assessments where shared with us, and records relating to student conduct.

Health and wellbeing information — allergies, medical conditions, medications, immunization details, dietary requirements, accessibility needs, physician contact details, and health card information where required.

Financial information — tuition account details, payment method information processed through our payment providers, financial assistance applications, and donation history.

Employment information — resumes and applications, references, qualifications and certifications, criminal record and vulnerable sector check results, payroll and benefits data, and performance records.

Images, audio and video — photographs, video and audio recordings of students and community members captured at School events, in classrooms as part of Reggio-inspired learning documentation, and in our marketing materials.

Digital and technical information — website usage data, IP address, browser and device type, referring page, and portal login activity.

Certain categories — particularly health information, financial information and records about children — are treated as sensitive and are handled with correspondingly stronger controls.

Identity and contact details — legal and preferred name, date and place of birth, home address, phone numbers, email addresses, citizenship or immigration status where relevant to enrolment, and the names and contact details of parents, guardians and emergency contacts.

Family and household information — family composition, custody or access arrangements, languages spoken at home, and sibling relationships within the School.

Admissions information — inquiry and application forms, prior school reports, teacher or principal references, assessment results, interview notes, and supporting documentation submitted during the application process.

Learning records — attendance, report cards and assessments, IB Primary Years and Middle Years Programme documentation, portfolios and learning documentation, individualized learning plans, psychoeducational assessments where shared with us, and records relating to student conduct.

Health and wellbeing information — allergies, medical conditions, medications, immunization details, dietary requirements, accessibility needs, physician contact details, and health card information where required.

Financial information — tuition account details, payment method information processed through our payment providers, financial assistance applications, and donation history.

Employment information — resumes and applications, references, qualifications and certifications, criminal record and vulnerable sector check results, payroll and benefits data, and performance records.

Images, audio and video — photographs, video and audio recordings of students and community members captured at School events, in classrooms as part of Reggio-inspired learning documentation, and in our marketing materials.

Digital and technical information — website usage data, IP address, browser and device type, referring page, and portal login activity.

Certain categories — particularly health information, financial information and records about children — are treated as sensitive and are handled with correspondingly stronger controls.

How We Collect Personal Information
Most of the information we hold comes directly from you: through inquiry and application forms, admissions interviews, enrolment and re-enrolment paperwork, medical and consent forms, portal updates, event registrations, donation forms, and correspondence with School staff.

We also receive information from other sources where it is reasonable and lawful to do so, including:

• Previous schools, referees and assessment providers during the admissions process

• Healthcare professionals, with your consent, where a student requires accommodation or medical support at School

• Background check providers, for staff, contractors and certain volunteers

• Publicly available sources, in the context of advancement and alumni relations

• Our website and portal platforms, which record technical usage data automatically

Where you provide us with information about another person — a second guardian, an emergency contact or a referee, for example — we rely on you having the authority to share it with us.

Why We Collect and Use Personal Information
The School uses personal information to run its educational program and its business operations. Specific purposes include:

• Assessing applications and making admission decisions

• Enrolling students and administering re-enrolment

• Delivering the IB PYP and MYP curriculum and documenting student learning

• Supporting student wellbeing, accommodations and individualized learning

• Keeping students safe, including administering medication, managing allergies and responding to emergencies

• Operating co-curricular programs, athletics, the house system, field trips and before/after care

• Communicating with families about schedules, events, closures, safety matters and School news

• Billing tuition and fees, administering financial assistance, and processing donations

• Recruiting, hiring and managing faculty and staff

• Maintaining alumni connections and the archival history of the School

• Promoting Richland Academy through our website, publications, digital prospectus and social media

• Meeting legal, regulatory, insurance and audit obligations

Some communications are operational rather than optional. Messages about closures, safety, health matters, schedules and account balances are sent to all current families regardless of marketing preferences, because families need them.

Consent and Your Choices
In most cases we collect personal information with your knowledge and consent, either express or implied by the nature of the interaction. Completing an inquiry form, for example, implies consent to be contacted about admission.

You may withdraw consent for optional uses at any time by contacting us. Withdrawing consent may affect our ability to provide certain services — we cannot, for instance, administer medication to a student without the necessary health information on file.

In a limited set of circumstances, Canadian privacy law permits an organization to collect, use or disclose personal information without consent — for example, where disclosure is required by a court order, where there is a risk to someone’s safety, or where information is needed to investigate a breach of an agreement. Richland relies on these exceptions only where they genuinely apply.

Photography, Video and Learning Documentation
Documentation is central to the Reggio Emilia approach. Teachers regularly photograph, record and display student work and classroom conversations to make children’s thinking visible. This material is used inside the School as part of teaching and reflection.

Separately, the School photographs and films students at events, in classrooms and around campus for use in:

• Our website, blog and newsletters

• Printed and digital admissions materials, including the digital prospectus

• Social media accounts operated by the School

• Yearbooks, displays and archival records

Parents and guardians are asked to indicate their photography and media preferences at enrolment, and those preferences can be changed at any time by writing to the School Office. We ask families to note that once an image has appeared in a printed publication or has been shared onward by a third party on social media, the School’s ability to retrieve it is limited.

We also ask families and visitors to respect the privacy of other children: photographs taken at School events should not be posted publicly if they show students other than your own without the permission of their families.